From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye, and a program produced by CCTV for Feng Zhengming has been broadcast.

It received a very positive response nationwide, and many people really liked the format of the program.

In particular, viewers can follow the television cameras and witness firsthand the daily life of Feng Zhengming, the national culinary champion.

I saw him carefully groom himself from the moment he got up in the morning, and then he had to carefully plan the day's work for each store.

He also needs to contact suppliers to have them ship different goods to his various stores.

Even so, Feng Zhengming still needed to go to the farmers' market in person.

However, he didn't go to the market where ordinary families buy groceries.

He went to some wholesale markets located on the outer ring road of Shanghai.

Go and buy some fresh goods.

Some of them were pre-ordered by him, while others were bought on a whim because he felt the food was fresh and good enough, so he planned to add a dish to the menu.

The program will then insert a short segment showing Shanghai's gourmets ordering the day's freshest dishes.

Then, in the kitchen, Feng Zhengming used uncommon ingredients to make a rather unique dish.

The method itself isn't particularly novel; the key issue is that the ingredients are indeed uncommon.

With Feng Zhengming's help, the dishes will also look quite beautiful.

For example, when CCTV was filming, they captured Feng Zhengming buying a very fresh and rare snail.

Feng Zhengming bought them and processed the fresh snails.

These snails will be cooked in several different ways.

For example, the Shandong dish "Tang Bao".

This is also one of the dishes that made Feng Zhengming famous: stir-fried snail slices in vinegar and pepper fish soup.

However, Feng Zhengming is now much more skilled at seasoning.

He also stir-fries conch slices and cabbage in oil.

Similarly, the conch slices are sliced ​​very thinly and stir-fried together with hand-shredded cabbage hearts.

The whole process takes only a few seconds.

The lotus root is crispy, and the conch slices are equally crispy.

This dish can also be called "crispy lotus root and snail slices".

The filming by CCTV, combined with post-production editing, left many viewers somewhat dazzled.

In addition to these cooking details, the CCTV program also filmed Feng Zhengming's management of the kitchen.

To the surprise of many, Feng Zhengming was almost never seen losing his temper in the kitchen.

No matter what mistake someone in the kitchen makes, he will patiently teach them.

Feng Zhengming would personally provide guidance on any dishes that needed to be reworked.

This surprised many viewers.

Many people assumed that if a mistake was made, Feng Zhengming would personally make another one.

To everyone's surprise, Feng Zhengming simply provided guidance from the sidelines and still made the chef who made the mistake do it again.

But then everyone thought about it again and realized that this arrangement was not wrong.

After all, if you forbid someone from making a mistake from doing it again, they may never be able to correct it.

Feng Zhengming's actions allowed many television viewers to see his side as a teacher.

After seeing the restaurant in Feng Zhengming's old villa.

The program also included footage of Feng Zhengming's other stores in Shanghai.

Through more detailed interviews and conversations, we also learned about Feng Zhengming from other people.

This led many people to realize that Feng Zhengming was indeed an ordinary person.

People in the kitchens of each restaurant would also say some good things about Feng Zhengming, as well as some bad things about him.

These were clearly not discussed in advance; it was more like a surprise inspection and questioning.

Even though Feng Zhengming has some problems, people are still more willing to follow him.

One very simple reason is that it was said by Jiang Chengzhe.

"He can give us enough opportunities to showcase ourselves, and he will also put enough pressure on us so that we can take every dish we make seriously."

Having a boss and a competitor like him is an honor for me, and also a driving force for my progress.

The interview with Jiang Chengzhe was a bit longer, and it also introduced some of Jiang Chengzhe's background.

Learning about Jiang Chengzhe's situation made more people realize the extent of Feng Zhengming's power.

That would make the equally outstanding Jiang Chengzhe willingly follow him.

This wasn't just about surpassing others in skill; it was also about earning Jiang Chengzhe's respect for the person's character.

Besides Jiang Chengzhe, the other outstanding young chefs were also impressive.

Many people only learned through this episode of CCTV's program that Feng Zhengming not only runs so many restaurants on his own, but also has a group of excellent young chefs helping him.

This made some of the master chefs watching the show a little jealous.

However, what Feng Zhengming can give to young chefs is something that many master chefs simply cannot.

The program received a very positive response nationwide after it aired.

We have received many letters from people all over the country, hoping that CCTV can help express their respect for Feng Zhengming's dedication to food.

Of course, many more people began flocking to Shanghai, wanting to try Feng Zhengming's cooking. They not only made reservations at his old-style house restaurant, but also visited other shops in Shanghai.

Some people traveled directly to various parts of Shandong Province to try the culinary skills of Feng Zhengming's shops.

When business suddenly became even more booming, Feng Zhengming wasn't thinking about opening new stores or raising prices in his own shops.

He became even busier, constantly reminding each restaurant to ensure the quality of their dishes.

Under Feng Zhengming's strict supervision, no problems were caused by the increase in customers at the stores.

Meanwhile, during these two months, Feng Zhengming completed the staff replacement of several stores.

They also upgraded the store that Zhu Xu and Guan Wei were in charge of.

After Zhu Xu and Guan Wei's shop was upgraded, Feng Zhengming opened another branch of Ganfanpu in Shanghai.

This has made many people quite happy, as they feel that his new store means they don't have to wait in line for too long.

Feng Zhengming did not offer much explanation for this.

He opened the new store entirely to cope with the urban expansion of Shanghai.

After all, a new district has been built in Shanghai, and his store will have to move there as well; he still needs to secure a foothold in the market first.

The six new recruits transferred from Qilu were assigned to several shops by Feng Zhengming.

One of the sixth senior apprentices successfully won the position of head chef in the kitchen of Sun Hai's former restaurant during the competition.

This apprentice is named Peng Yan, and he is also an apprentice whom the sixth senior brother Zhang Minghai has always had high hopes for.

After Feng Zhengming opened the new store, he also transferred Chen Anbang from Quancheng to the new store to learn how to work in the kitchen.

Over the years, Chen Anbang stayed in Jinan and did not go out with Feng Zhengming.

Through his own efforts, he successfully became an apprentice of Li Huidong, Feng Zhengming's senior brother. Although he was not able to formally become Feng Zhengming's apprentice.

But Chen Anbang was already very satisfied.

As one of the earliest veterans and key members who worked with Feng Zhengming.

Chen Anbang was one of the less fortunate ones.

When I first joined the kitchen, I knew almost nothing, and it was Feng Zhengming who taught me step by step.

Chen Anbang had originally considered becoming Feng Zhengming's apprentice, but unfortunately, his skills were progressing too slowly.

On the contrary, it allowed Sun Decai and others who came later to gain Feng Zhengming's favor ahead of time.

This caused Chen Anbang some disappointment.

Chen Anbang even left Feng Zhengming's shop and hid at home, wallowing in self-pity.

It was Li Huidong who came to Chen Anbang's door and had a good talk with him alone.

This finally helped Chen Anbang resolve his inner conflict and allow him to face the differences between himself and others.

Returning to the kitchen of Huiquanlou with Li Huidong, Chen Anbang abandoned his former self-proclaimed senior apprentice mentality and resumed his apprenticeship, starting from scratch to learn diligently from Li Huidong.

His cooking skills improved very quickly this time as well.

After all, the foundation that Feng Zhengming laid for him was very solid.

Then Chen Anbang took the initiative to ask Li Huidong to become his apprentice.

Li Huidong initially wanted to refuse.

The eldest brother even made a special phone call to Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming asked with a laugh on the phone, "Brother, do you think Chen Anbang is suitable for you?"

Li Huidong was very straightforward on the phone: "He may not be talented, but he is a hard-working, studious, and diligent kid. I still think he is a good student."

Feng Zhengming: "Since you think he's a good student, then take him on as your apprentice."

Actually, his situation is partly my fault. I should have brought him with me when we came to Shanghai, so he could have gained some experience with everyone there and perhaps had a chance to grow further.

I've held him back. Brother, please take him on as your apprentice and teach him properly. When I need him in Shanghai, I can transfer him over for some experience.

Only after hearing this from his junior apprentice did Li Huidong formally accept Chen Anbang as his disciple.

After formally becoming an apprentice, Chen Anbang became even more serious, working hard in the kitchen whether learning or doing his job.

This time, it was Li Huidong who recommended Chen Anbang to Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming did not allow Chen Anbang and the other six people to go to Shanghai together.

Instead, he waited until the new store in Shanghai opened before sending Chen Anbang and his two apprentices to Shanghai.

Upon arriving in Shanghai and seeing Feng Zhengming again, Chen Anbang was able to face his junior uncle with ease.

Feng Zhengming didn't say much, but bluntly told Chen Anbang that he would be the sous chef at the new restaurant for the time being, and if he performed well, he could be promoted to the head chef.

Chen Anbang was well aware that this was Feng Zhengming's way of nurturing him, hoping that he could also grow up.

Therefore, when Chen Anbang entered the kitchen of the new store, he worked very hard. In addition to making good dishes, he also helped Zhu Xu, who was temporarily acting as the head chef of the new store, to manage the kitchen diligently.

Zhu Xu also noticed that Chen Anbang was different from when he first met him; he had matured.

He was also very happy for Chen Anbang and taught him a lot.

When Chen Anbang actually started managing the kitchen, he realized that he still had many shortcomings.

Even the kitchen of a fast food restaurant like a dry rice shop requires meticulous management; it's not something that can be done easily or casually.

By this time, the staff replacement for Feng Zhengming's various stores in Shanghai was complete.

After Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui returned, they all integrated well into their respective stores.

They are now divided into two groups, taking turns working at Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant and Jiang Chengzhe.

At the same time, they are also actively contacting their fellow students.

He is making some preparations for opening his own store in Shanghai.

It was probably shortly after CCTV aired its interview program with Feng Zhengming in Shanghai.

Feng Zhengming found five people and asked them if they were ready.
This question really surprised the five of them.

The five people were clearly surprised that Feng Zhengming would contact them so quickly.

Seeing the surprised expressions on the five people's faces, Feng Zhengming was quite straightforward.

"Now is the time when my fame is still on the rise, so I can give you more support so that you can start operating your stores. You can think carefully about how you want to run your own stores."

I hope you can give me a more concrete plan, not just some random idea that pops into my head. I need specific details about opening the store, including what dishes you plan to feature as your main offerings.

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the five of them also began to take the matter of opening a shop seriously.

Before the five people could speak, Feng Zhengming told them to go back and think it over.

“Go back and think it over. You can ask your master, discuss it with your fellow disciples, or even come to me to discuss it.”

This time, all five of them were very serious, and they began to seriously consider how to open a shop.

The five of them first consulted with Jiang Chengzhe.

Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but smile when he saw that they had come to him for advice.

"Why are you asking me for advice? If I were you, I would definitely work with the head chef, so we should let the head chef come up with ideas and run the restaurant according to his vision."

These words left the five people somewhat bewildered, and for a moment they were all unsure how to describe Jiang Chengzhe.

However, upon further reflection, the five of them felt that Jiang Chengzhe's statement seemed to be correct.

Now, let them open their own shops? Obviously, they're completely clueless and don't know how to do it.

Should they open a shop according to the ideas of their master and fellow apprentices?
That would necessarily require authenticity, and the store to be done in every way the old store did.

Especially when they returned to their respective hometowns and met their fellow disciples.

The reason they went back and came back was that they didn't immediately bring up the matter of opening a shop with Feng Zhengming.

One major reason is that after they went back, they found that some of their ideas didn't align with those of their fellow apprentices.

They were probably influenced by Feng Zhengming because they had followed him for a long time.

In the shops run by Jiang Chengzhe and in Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant, I also saw more new tricks and met many customers from different backgrounds.

Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao, and Han Rui believe that the key to running a successful restaurant is not simply to copy the taste of the cuisines they have studied.

The goal is to find a suitable balance so that the flavors of their dishes can better suit the tastes of most people.

However, none of their fellow disciples, including their master, had such thoughts.

Instead, they visited the older generation of masters, who shared similar ideas.

This also led to the five of them feeling a distance between themselves and their master and fellow disciples after returning home.

It's not that there's an irreconcilable conflict, but rather that everyone has different philosophies about opening a store.

The master and his fellow apprentices insisted on opening a shop, insisting on authenticity and preserving the old techniques, using the most traditional methods to carve out a niche for their cuisine in Shanghai.

So now that Feng Zhengming has come to them to ask about opening a shop, the five of them are genuinely a bit lost.

Seeing that the five people didn't understand his meaning, Jiang Chengzhe explained it more bluntly.

"You should talk to the head chef and clearly explain your ideas so that he can understand your thinking and then make some designs and arrangements for your respective new stores based on your ideas." (End of this chapter)